Rourkela: A 73-year-old cancer patient from New Alipore in Kolkata was duped of ₹49 lakh by two brothers from Odisha's Rourkela in a shocking case of cyber fraud.

The Kolkata Police, after tracking the accused for weeks, arrested 19-year-old Chandra Prakash Tulsian from Rourkela on Friday. His elder brother, Shivam, is currently absconding.

According to police, the fraud took place on February 14, when the two accused called Mala Goswami, the elderly woman, pretending to be officials. They claimed that they had a parcel in her name containing a PAN card, Aadhaar card, and foreign currency. They threatened her with legal action unless she paid ₹49 lakh, which they claimed was required to clear her name and avoid arrest.

Frightened, Goswami transferred the full amount via RTGS. The fraudsters later instructed her not to leave her house between February 14 and 20. Concerned about her isolation, her son, who lives in Bengaluru, alerted neighbours after learning she hadn’t left the house. The neighbours visited her home and, after hearing her ordeal, took her to the local police station.

A formal case was registered under NCRP (National Cybercrime Reporting Portal), and an investigation began. The Kolkata Police froze the bank accounts of the accused. The cops arrived in Rourkela on Thursday and arrested Chandra Prakash the next day.

He was produced in court in Kolkata on May 3, where he was granted bail. The judge, however, imposed strict conditions, barring him from leaving the New Alipore police station limits for two months and ordering him to report to the police station every evening between 6 pm and 9 pm.

The investigation is ongoing, and efforts are on to trace and arrest Shivam.